Are you a “true Packer fan”?

“When people start talking about my legacy – it’s mine,” said Favre. “It’s what I think of it. I know the way I play the game. I know the way I’ve handled myself as a teammate, a leader, in the public. If you’re a true Packer fan, you understand. You say, ‘You know what? He chose to continue playing, they chose to go in a different direction, it’s part of the business.’ I don’t have to prove anything to anybody because what I’ve done – it’s down in the books. . . . I’m in it for the right reasons, and if people can’t understand that, I’m sorry.”

I am a “true Packer fan” but I am torn. I believe Brett should still be a Packer. He was the leader that made the Packers champions. I will follow him this season and hope he does well, except when playing the Packers. The Packers front office is to blame in my opinion. Brett I understand….

I disagree that Favre “was the leader that made the Packers champions”. They were champions due to Reggie White, Ron Wolf, Mike Holmgren, as well as a number of other people. Reggie White showed free agents they could come to Green Bay. Ron Wolf was responsible for getting a lot of talent – including taking a risk with Favre. Holmgren created a system where Favre and the team could succeed. One guy doesn’t make a championship team – a team makes a championship team.

I also don’t think the front office is entirely to blame. Favre retired. He quit. And the Packers were willing to let him come back when he first started waffling. And he decided to stay retired. And when he did decided he actually wanted to come back, they had taken him (once again) at his word and moved on. And he threw a temper tantrum. He blasted multiple people in the organization, created a distraction and wanted to (in his own words) ‘stick it to Ted’. The Packers probably could have handled it better, but to this day they have yet to be negative about him, they have said they want to have a relationship with him in the future and they have tried to keep their distance. Favre is the one who keeps opening old wounds – especially by going to a bitter rival.

I’ll take a stab. Yep, I’m a true Packer fan and Favre has still managed to majorly piss me off. Someday in the future, when number 4 is finally retired, I will look clap and honor the Brett Favre that was and be happy to see him honored, but it’s going to take some time to forget how he has treated Packer fans.

I might agree with Favre if this part of his statement were true, “You say, ‘You know what? He chose to continue playing, they chose to go in a different direction, it’s part of the business.’ ” but we all know it wasn’t that simple. He dinked around w/an emotional press conference, made the talk show circuit assuring everyone under the sun that he wasn’t going to play professional football anymore, etc., etc. and THEN joined the Jets. It was sneaky and left a sour taste in this Packer fan’s mouth, and it’ll take awhile to get rid of the aftertaste.

Yes, I am true Packer fan who suffered through the 70’s watching teams with the likes of John Brockington, Willard Harrell and Scott Hunter struggle to post 5-win seasons.
Brett Favre’s true solipsistic self is now on display for all to see, and it ain’t pretty. He’s too preoccupied with his burning desire for revenge to realize that most Packer fans take his signing with the Vikings as a punch to the stomach (or some other extremely sensitive anatomic structure).
Having said that, I think he’ll do OK as long as the Vikings play with the lead. However, he no longer is a clutch performer (see Rams playoff game, Falcons playoff game, Vikings playoff, Eagles playoff, and Giants playoff). Couple that with a somewhat dim individual who refuses to admit that his arm is failing him and I just don’t see the perennially-choking Vikings winning the Super Bowl.
Frankly, I’d be more worried if Minnesota got Aaron Rodgers! And yeah, I wish Brett Favre nothing but bad luck. Go Packers!

I’ll give him his space when he gives me mine. But by constantly forcing himself into the spotlight as well as insulting my allegiance to his former team based on my feelings for him then he doesn’t get anything. Because now instead of getting to enjoy the season we’ll get to endure the Brett Favre commentary for another season.

Hmmmmm! All this time I thought it was the Green Bay Packers not the Green Bay Favres. For 16 years fans paid admission, gave Sunday Afternoon games top ratings, bought memoribilia by the truck load and defended his every move. What does he give back? “It’s my legacy, I don’t care what the fans thinkl, they need to get over it.” (paraphrased, of course)

Did Favre choose Vikings on a whim? Hardly
Quarterback’s courtship was all about calculation, not serendipity
By Mike Florio

updated 5:08 p.m. CT, Wed., Aug 19, 2009

I’ve long believed that everyone connected to the sport of football will lie in the name of obtaining or securing a strategic advantage. The game rewards successful prevarication on the field, and it usually champions (if not condones) a bona fide whopper told off it.
This dynamic creates an atmosphere in which lying becomes an accepted business practice, with truth-telling occurring only when it overlaps with the best interests of the team.
We saw it last week, when the Philadelphia Eagles intentionally misled everyone regarding their interest in Mike Vick, only to deliver a shocker to the football-watching world. For their lack of candor, the Eagles weren’t chastised, but applauded.

The more recent example reflects not one untruth but a series of them.
I once believed quarterback Brett Favre was simply a victim of his ever-shifting mindset and emotions. But after watching at least a dozen times on Tuesday the clip of Favre saying in February 2009 that he definitely will not play again, I’m prepared to conclude that Favre’s arrival in Minnesota was far more about calculation than serendipity.
In February, Favre laid the foundation to secure a free-and-clear release from the Jets. When he got what he wanted in April, Favre said it had nothing to do with any desire to play for the Vikings. Momentum continued to build in that direction until, all of a sudden, Favre told Vikings coach Brad Childress (whom Favre calls “Chilly”) that the Second Annual Retirement would not become the Second Annual Unretirement.

The powers-that-be would have us all believe Chilly accepted Favre’s decision without any effort to change his mind. Then, Chilly ignored Favre for 20 days, and Favre ignored Childress for 20 days.
But Chilly supposedly called Favre on Monday, on a whim. And Favre — who agonizes over every decision in his life — instantly determined without deliberation or debate to re-retire from retirement and relocate to Minnesota for six months.
Think about that for a second. The guy who has dragged his feet in each of the past five offseasons, waffling and wavering and waxing before deciding to play football again, suddenly decided in one day, based on one conversation, to commit to playing for the Vikings for an entire season.
He didn’t just fly to Minnesota to hammer out a contract. He came, he saw, he practiced. All in one day. And he’ll play in a game on Friday night.
The whole thing would make far more (but not complete) sense if Chilly and Favre would admit they talked over the past three weeks regarding scenarios in which Favre would ride in on a white plane and save the Vikings’ season — and in turn, Chilly’s job.
So, at a minimum, Favre spent the past three weeks continuing to revisit the decision with Chilly and finally deciding after three weeks of additional deliberation and decision-making and unmaking to go ahead and give it a shot.
The more likely explanation is that it was all a ruse.
In hindsight, the facts and circumstances suggest Favre’s arrival date was negotiated along with his salary, in the middle of June. With Chilly desperate to pump up a passing game that to date has been unable to take advantage of the attention paid to tailback Adrian Peterson, Chilly was willing to agree to anything that Favre and agent Bus Cook wanted.
So if (when) Cook explained that Brett doesn’t want to do the training camp thing, the two sides needed to come up with a plan for pulling the sheet off Favre after the Vikings departed Mankato. Telling the truth wasn’t an option, given the intense criticism both sides would have absorbed if it were known Favre had asked for special treatment — and Chilly willingly provided it.
The only semi-plausible approach was a renewed commitment to retirement, with the express (and top-secret) understanding that the Tuesday after the preseason opener would be the day Favre officially unretires.
For Tuesday’s developments to have been the product of coincidence is simply too convenient. It was, instead, the last piece of an on-field play, no different than the throw and the catch to cap a flea flicker.
Lying is a way of life in the NFL . And Favre’s presence in Minnesota is proof that we’ve all been lied to, again.

Yeah I’m a true Packer fan, and as such I can’t stand anyone who wears Queen Purple. And that now includes Brett. So play on old man, and here’s hoping you get a face full of Lambeau when you visit, and your last touchdown pass in GB is another 6 for the Pack.

Favre is now the enemy. The Benedict Arnold of Packerland. I’m sure this will blow over eventually and he will be placed in the ring of honor, jersey retired and all that crap but for now, he is the enemy and must be dealt with accordingly. IMHO, if there are “football” gods, neither Favre nor Vick should finish the season. I look forward to week four & I hope someone really gets to unload on him.

And yes, I am a true Packer fan–have been since the first 2 Super Bowls, even through all those lean years.

Hey 56, got any of those “The Pack will be Back” bumper stickers left? I have all mine framed in chronological order. From Post-Bengston to Holmgren. Man, that was a long time to be riculed by those damn Bear Fans.

When I see Brett making a comment like “true Packer fan” I become ill. What a joke and what a jerk. Also, I am becoming sick of all the fans talking about him making us champions. That was a team effort. Favre was even the main reason we won the SB in 96. Reggie White was.

We all understand Brett’s need to keep playing. He just wasn’t ready to grow up yet or to embrace the next chapter in his life, but what is hard to swallow is the fact that he derives such pleasure in playing for the rival. That is where he shows little class or maturity.

He is right when he says his legacy is HIS. So he is the only one to blame in screwing it up.

Kind of sad to watch him these days.

And on a side note: that red baseball cap he keeps wearing only proves he is stuck in time. Grow up!

” but what is hard to swallow is the fact that he derives such pleasure in playing for the rival. That is where he shows little class or maturity.”

I agree. I could understand wanting to play again last year – I just thought his airing his grievances in the media was tacky. Had he privately gone to the Packers and said ‘I screwed up. I want to play and I want to play for you. If I can’t, let’s talk about trade scenarios that we could both find acceptable” I would have wished him well and rooted for him.

But it is harder to understand coming out of retirement again this year and the joy he has playing for the Vikings. There were 29 teams he could have played for (everyone but the Pack, the Queens and the Bears). But he had to pick one of the teams that basically pokes a stick in the eye of the people who supported him for years.

umm, I think Favre derives pleasure from PLAYING… to be perfectly clear, the Vikings are the ONLY team that is the perfect fit for Brett: they run the offense he ran for 16 years, they have the best RB in the league, their defense is very very good (check out number 92 in purple), by all accounts they’re a potential Super Bowl contender, and they don’t have a solid QB he’ll have to unseat. The Packers would also be a great fit for Favre, but we have A-Rodg (4000yds, 28TDs, rocket arm, and he’s a better decision maker than old no. 4… I’ll take him). As much as it makes my face turn purple seeing my favorite player ever wear purple, it makes complete sense for him.

You know what Brett, a TRUE PACKER PLAYER would understand why we are upset. Guess you just never actually were a TRUE PACKER PLAYER, you just had us fooled for all of those years. I hope we retire his number, and then unretire it and give it to a punter, then retire it again, and after a few weeks give it to a backup QB, then retire it again for two days before letting the water boy have it, etc.

Gotta say – it would be a travesty of a mockery of a sham to retire this number pre-mortem.

Think of the true legacies that number would have to sit with and tell me the other numbers wouldn’t recoil in revulsion, then 3, 14, 15, 66, and 92 would un-retire themselves, and 4 would stand by itself just like it always wanted.

That kind of reverse symbology of retiring jersey numbers might make a good cautionary tale, though: “Sorry kid, we don’t give out #4 ‘cuz it ain’t a team number.”

He also got put on the ground twice, & after the first one, came up shaking his head. I will admit he got robbed of onepass. He threw leading the receiveer away from his defender but the receiver cut back towards the defender. That play would have been at least a first down and looked like it could have gotten quite a few more YAC. Chiefs presssured him pretty well during his two series.

And Tavaris Jackson had a pretty nice night. As long as T-Jack is a Viking I don’t want him to do overly well, but I do feel bad for him and Sage Rosenfels. It was nice to see Jackson put in a nice performance last night.

WE DONT NEED FAVRE… I’m not glad he’s not a Packer anymore, but I am SOOO glad that we went with A-Rodg. TT and MM made a great move by not bending on the Favre issue last year. It’s a shame he wears purple now, but at least he looks like a Sally-boy with those little letters and tiny ‘4’ on the back of his shirt…so awkward. Yes, I miss Favre, but the only downside to his playing for another team is that we can’t celebrate his greatness (i.e. retire his number, etc.) for at least five years now. I like to his his games played streak continue, I like to see him succeed too, just as long as his team loses in weeks 4 and 8. Are you guys watching the Pack this pre-season? I know the games don’t count, but this team looks great… My team is green and gold, not number 4.

Brent Farve clearly has no clue about what has made Packer fans through the ages. In his definition, I guess I am not one … but, just like his “Legacy”, a definition is something a community makes: The community of English speakers will create the agreed-upon definition of “fan”, and the Football community will determine his legacy. It ain’t gonna look like what he thinks it will.

I thought I was fed up with ole Brent when I went to the Packers preseason game at Candlestick last year with my kids, who made up a “12 = 4 x 3” sign using jerseys, and they wouldn’t let us take it in. I’m waaay beyond that now.

It’s not that I don’t like the move to get Favre, I said; I just don’t like it now. I told Childress that Favre’s the one who said he felt 40 while working out in Mississippi in July, and just didn’t think he could make it through a full season. Given that Minnesota’s favorable early schedule (at Cleveland, at Detroit, San Francisco) could be a cushion for a pretty tough 15-day stretch in October (Baltimore, at Pittsburgh, at Green Bay). Favre, if needed, could have joined the Vikings near the Week 9 bye, and been fresh for the final eight games, five of which are in the friendly confines of the Metrodome.

“I don’t have any reason to believe he won’t stay healthy, barring a car accident or some catastrophe,” said Childress. Other than the fact that Favre wore down last year in New York and said he was feeling 40 now.

I repeat: I’d have liked this move if Sage Rosenfels or Tarvaris Jackson struggled, and Mariano Rivera had to come in for the season save. But I’m just going by Favre’s words, and those words three weeks earlier were downcast and stark.

I don’t care that Favre struggled Friday night, and I don’t care that he started after being in camp for 15 minutes; all pretense of having to earn anything with the Vikings has been thrown out the window after Childress bent every rule on the team to get Favre in-house. On one of his three incompletions Friday night against Kansas City, Favre threw the wrong way when Percy Harvin, half his age, ran the right way. In time, he’ll learn his receivers, and he’ll make some beautiful music with them. This one tempts fate — and the longest starting streak a quarterback has ever had.

“The key to me,” said Childress, “is managing the guy. We’ll get him ramped up, we’ll get him to be the leader he is, and that doesn’t mean he’ll be Patton and come in and throw his weight around. But I think it’s good to get him in now to learn his teammates and get to know his receivers. That takes some time.”

As I said to Childress, I don’t agree with the timing, but I understand why he did it. The team is a quarterback away from serious Super Bowl contention, and he didn’t trust Rosenfels or Jackson to be that quarterback. He knew how painful it was for Favre to say no to returning three weeks ago, and he knew if he asked him one more time, and attached a now-or-never string to it, he’d probably get Favre to come in. I just think it shouldn’t have been now or never. If Childress wanted Favre today, he’d want him next week. Or the week after.

But it’s done, and the Twin Cities are in a bigger tizzy than if Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau signed lifetime contracts with the Twins. FOX is delirious to have the first three Favre Retirement Tour games, ESPN is frothing at the prospect of the Packer-Viking Monday-nighter Oct. 5 and Ice Bowl possibility at Chicago Dec. 28, and Dick Ebersol and NBC are laying in the weeds for a couple of Sunday-nighters in Weeks 11 through 17. Everyone’s happy. Now the star of the musical just can’t get laryngitis.

Quote of the Week III
“I wish he stayed retired. I really do. You know, I love the guy to death but enough is enough. I would love to be in that locker room when he first arrives because there’s clearly going to be players in there that aren’t happy, and it’s not just going to be the two quarterbacks.”
— Former Green Bay tight end and Brett Favre buddy Mark Chmura, on ESPN Radio in Milwaukee, via sportsradiointerviews.com

Best team in the first two weeks, to me, looks like Green Bay. Aaron Rodgers is playing as if these games actually matter. The defensive line keeps shutting good players; unsung players, like Johnny Jolly in and out, and they keep making plays.

New topic suggestion: the Seahawks just lost their starting center for 4-6 weeks. It also appears that MM has named Spitz as the starting center. Time to trade Wells to the Seahawks? I guess it depends how MM + TT feel about Duke Preston and his ability to replace Spitz if he gets hurt or if Spitz needs to slide over to guard. My opinion is to keep Wells as Sitton is far from a sure thing at guard but you have to wonder what Seattle would offer for Wells right now. Wonder what Seattle would give up for Preston? I’d ship Preston out for a 6th rounder at this point.

Another topic suggestion: the coaching staff should have a good idea of how Kampman is going to adjust to the 3-4 and the LB corp looks to have good depth. I honestly haven’t seen enough of Kampman this offseason to make that judgement but if they feel he is struggling to adjust it may be the perfect time to trade him to a 4-3 team. Perfect scenario is we get a proven RT/RG and maybe a draft pick or two. Good 4-3 DE’s are rare and we have one of offer. I am guessing a few teams would be willing to give up quite a bit for him if Kampman is willing to extend his contract with this new team.

Yeah and Popinga is the starting ROLB. Barnett bumps chillar down to #2 and Bishop is #2 to AJ. Also Barbre is the starting RT. I worry about Barbre. He was flagged twice for 20 yds. Saturday not too good at run blocking
.
The starting Oline then is , from right to left, Clifton, Colledge, Spitz, Sitton and Barbre. According to MM they will play the entire ist half.

So, I’m in agreement with DaveK, I think there are someways to improve the Oline and, depending on the real status of the injured safties, another guy there couldn’t hurt. There sure are a lot of LB’s on the roster.

Preston was released… so that’s that. What does Seattle have that we need? We need a punter, but we should never trade for one of those. We could really use a solid backup QB! Seattle has Seneca Wallace, but is he a solid backup? I heard Tavaris Jackson might be on the trading block, and he looked stellar last Friday, but I’m not sure TT will be doing any deals with the Viqueens.

I think we’re deep enough at every position on D, except maybe DE (Jolly goes down every season and Harrell is big question mark). I like having depth on our team, so I say keep Wells and rotate him in so our line is always fresh. If we’re going to trade anything, it should be one of our many LB’s. We have plenty and they’re all pretty quality. I know those who frequent this blog are big Poppinga haters, but he’s had a great camp, and has looked very solid in the 3-4 this pre-season. Trade him, not Bishop, not Chillar, and certainly not Matthews. Punting and backup QB… let’s get on it TT!

I just watchced the 2nd half of the Bills game (thank God for DVR & the NFL channel). I then looked at the roster which shows this Underwood (cornerback/Cinncinnatri) kid about the same size as Al Harris as a matter of fact 8 pounds heavier. Maybe it’s these 53 year old eyes but man he looked small. Maybe it’s Harris’ hair. Oh well, doubt he makes the final cut anyway.

That’s a definite on the backup QB. I just don’t think Brohm’s gonna get it. IF TJack gets cut I think he’d be worth a look but Chilly’s a fool if he cuts him. With their OLine Favre ain;t gonna make 16 games..

I was up in Green Bay today watching practice. The linebackers were right in front of me. Kampmann seemed to be doing fine. Kevin Greene was working with his group and had them doing drills to recover fumbles. It was fun to watch the guys and soon practice will be closed to the public.